


Kissing Back

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Merlin Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-27
Updated: 2011-08-27
Packaged: 2017-10-23 02:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/245392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur caught his bottom lip between his teeth. “I only kiss people I know will kiss me back.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kissing Back

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. Do forgive me.

Merlin kissed the cat’s nose for the last time, then squeezed her tight and finally let go. He watched with a smirk as she leapt off the bed and ran through the bedroom door. When Merlin looked back at Arthur, it was to find him watching with a frown.

“What?” Merlin said, perhaps a little too defensive. “Haven’t you ever kissed a cat before?”

“No,” Arthur’s eyes  were narrowed, but his lips twisted in a way that showed he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or not.

“Why not?” Merlin’s shoulders eased slightly as he crossed his legs between them on the bed. “They hate it. I thought you liked torturing helpless creatures.”

“No,” Arthur said again, shaking his head and smiling. “I only like torturing you.”

Merlin folded his arms across his chest and arranged his face into a pout. “You sure know how to make a guy feel special.”

“Shut up!” Arthur laughed and shoved Merlin’s arm, making him pull a face and giggle. They watched each other for a moment, then Arthur turned to stare at the floor. He caught his bottom lip between his teeth. “I only kiss people I know will kiss me back.”

“Well that’s limiting the market,” Merlin joked with a grin, but when Arthur only winced, he softened his voice. “Do you, erm, know anyone? Who’d kiss you back, I mean.”

Arthur shrugged, still staring at the floor.

“I bet Gwen would,” Merlin leaned forwards and nudged Arthur’s arm. “She likes you, Arthur.”

“Hm,” Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You know why that won’t be happening, though.”

Merlin nodded slowly, letting his hand linger on Arthur’s forearm. “Yeah, well, y’know,” he muttered. “Just sayin’.”

“Would--” Arthur said suddenly. He turned to look at Merlin for a moment, but when their eyes met, the words seemed to die on his lips, and everything went deadly quiet.

Merlin’s heart skipped a beat. He studied Arthur’s face, not missing the blush creeping up his cheeks. He dared himself to think of some other question Arthur might’ve thought better of asking; his mind rushed over every possibility, but kept landing back on the same one-- the _obvious_ one.

“Yeah,” Merlin croaked, his voice barely more than a whisper. “Yeah, I-- I would.”

Arthur swallowed audibly and Merlin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. He didn’t even realise he’d done in until Arthur’s eyes flicked down to watch. Merlin’s stomach was full of butterflies. He’d always thought Arthur wasn’t interested. He’d always insisted that two gay people could just be friends, without anything more. He’d always ignored wanting this.

A shy smile lit Arthur’s features as he shuffled around to face Merlin. He lifted his feet off the floor and crossed his legs in front of him, taking far too much time to pull at a loose thread in his sock. Merlin’s eyes didn’t leave Arthur once; he took in every detail, terrified he was misreading it all, feeling sure something would happen to prove him wrong.

“Do you...” Merlin mumbled so quietly he was convinced Arthur couldn’t hear. “Should... Should I?”

He reached over to brush his fingers along Arthur’s hand, and blue eyes snapped up to meet Merlin’s gaze. Arthur stared at him, unspeaking, unmoving, just frozen. He let out a slow, shaky breath, and Merlin couldn’t help but notice the way Arthur’s lips were parted, or the way his ears had turned red beneath his hair.

The smallest, sharpest nod of Arthur’s head was the closest Merlin got to any kind of answer. They sat in still silence for a few moments, both looking and not looking at each other. Merlin was too scared to stare straight into Arthur’s eyes, but he was too transfixed to look anywhere else.

When Merlin leaned forward, bringing their noses close to touching, he heard Arthur’s breath hitch. The sound made Merlin’s stomach lurch, and he lifted a hand to Arthur’s face, tickling his fingers underneath Arthur’s chin and tilting his lips up.

The first touch of their mouths together had Arthur pulling back a fraction of an inch, as if in surprise. Merlin followed him, keeping their lips pressed together, and a tiny sound in Arthur’s throat a moment later told him it’d been the right decision. Merlin pushed up until he was almost kneeling, and although it made his thighs hurt and his heels dig into his legs, the feeling of Arthur’s hands gingerly slotting around his waist was more than worth it.

They stayed kissing quietly like that for a little while, and each time Arthur moved his lips to lay a soft, light kiss against Merlin’s mouth, Merlin felt his spine tingle. Arthur’s grip on his waist gradually became tighter, until finally he slid his hands up to hold Merlin beneath the arms, and pushed him gently onto his back.

This shift of pressure off Merlin’s thighs made him groan against Arthur’s mouth. Arthur groaned back and opened his mouth, slotting himself between Merlin legs, and threading a hand through his hair. The heavy, heady warmth of Arthur pressing him into the bedcovers elicited another moan from Merlin. He trailed his fingers up Arthur’s sides and gasped against his lips, opening his mouth too.

Arthur’s tongue brushed along Merlin’s lower lip and darted into his mouth, teasing across his teeth before sinking deeper. He opened his mouth wider, pushing down against Merlin’s until their tongues met and slid together. Merlin made a nondescript, enthusiastic sort of noise and gripped onto either side of Arthur’s t-shirt, pulling it taut across his stomach. That made Arthur smile, which felt weird when his lips were wrapped so closely around Merlin’s.

Merlin pushed his own tongue up into Arthur’s mouth, relishing the hum of pleasure it produced. They kissed back and forth, exploring each other’s mouths and tracing each other’s teeth, neither aware of much except the heat between them, and the small, steady movements of their hips against one another.

As Arthur gripped Merlin’s hair particularly tight, and turned his head so he could start kissing along Merlin’s cheekbone and down his neck, Merlin whined especially loud. Arthur didn’t laugh that time; instead, he made a groaning sound of his own, and moved his hand down to wrap behind Merlin’s thigh, making his muscles jump even through the thick denim of his jeans.

Merlin grinned, only just beginning to realise that his eyes had been shut ever since he lay down. Gradually, he opened them, wriggling a little at the feeling of Arthur sucking on his jaw. Merlin moved his own hands down to fit around Arthur’s arse, which made Arthur stop his assault on Merlin’s skin and blink down at him. It was no longer clear whether the flush on Arthur’s cheeks was from nerves or just the hot air between them, so Merlin lifted his head and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, then tightened his grip and gave a cheeky wink.

Arthur huffed out a laugh and kissed Merlin’s nose, his face brightening with a smile that reached his eyes and went straight to Merlin’s heart. They watched each other for a moment, both perfectly silent, then Arthur dipped his head to capture Merlin’s lips, and they were off again.


End file.
